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How safe is your children’s school?

Outsourcing of services is the norm in Mumbai’s schools, but security concerns are making parents relook at the many facilities institutions offer.

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Outsourcing of services is the norm in Mumbai’s schools, but security concerns and poor accountability is making parents relook at the many facilities institutions offer

Shortly after her daughter turned five, event manager Savita Dhingra pulled her out of the school bus service. “I noticed the bus staff was very careful with children in nursery,” says Dhingra. “But they were quite lax with the older kids, often making them negotiate busy streets and open drains to reach the vehicle.” Dhingra’s concerns had to do with the bus service being contracted to an outsider by the school. “I wasn’t certain if they would take as much care of my daughter as the school,” she says.

After the recent death of Harikrishna Singh, 7, who drowned in his school swimming pool, parents are taking a long, hard look at services outsourced by the city’s schools. There are quite a few: the bus, canteen, sports and swimming facilities, excursions, security, and cleaning. Question is, do parents feel comfortable leaving the safety of their children in the hands of a third party over which the school has no legal binding?

Singh’s family is planning to sue his school for evading responsibility over his death, and blaming the agency to which it outsourced the pool facilities. Other parents like Reyna Rupani, editor of Parents Today, want to take their kids out of the swim class. Inattention can be disastrous. During the 26/7 floods, a school bus full of children was stranded in the water after the driver fled. Recently a rented van carrying first-dayers to school overturned leaving many injured.

Sometimes parents don’t have a choice. “Some schools make excursions mandatory, even for Class III and IV students,” points out Arundhati Chavan, president of the PTA United Forum. Ditto swim camps and gymnastics or aerobics classes. At least one South Mumbai school insists kids only use the school bus because the lane next to the school is too narrow to park cars. And most parents are happy to avail of the school bus, not having time to drop and pick up their kids themselves.

Schools, on the other hand, say they can’t help but outsource these services. Educationist Karen Anand says limited-resources institutions like hers can’t afford their own buses (a new bus costs Rs 8-12 lakhs). “Contractors also take care of things like registration and various clearances, which is a big headache for the school,” she adds. In case of a flat tyre, service providers can send a back-up from their fleet of vehicles, while schools can’t. Canteen food, security and cleaning are outsourced for the same reasons. 

As for swimming, Bombay Scottish principal DPN Prasad says schools that don’t have their own pool, resort to tie-ups with clubs to give their students these benefits rather than deprive them. “Parents who don’t have access to a pool either, are happy if the school takes care of it,” he says. For some institutions, says MP Sharma, principal of GD Somany, this is also about additional income. “Earlier, schools used to handle these facilities themselves,” he says “But thanks to new schools and their competitiveness, everyone wants to offer add-ons like swim camps at any cost — safe or not — and charge parents heftily for it.”

Selecting the contractor, then, is crucial. “We try to pick the best in the business, and usually check back with other principals on this,” says Prasad. “After that we assume the contractor will ensure quality control, especially in matters of food, but sometimes that might mean trusting them too much.”

“One obvious fallout of outsourcing is lack of accountability,” says parent Rama Bishnoi. The schools get themselves covered — usually with an indemnity bond, to be signed by parents, saying the school is not responsible in case of mishaps. That bothers many parents. “I don’t understand how a school can say they are not responsible for my children when they take them out on trips, or even when they transport them to school,” says a mother, requesting anonymity. “If you can’t be responsible, don’t take them.”

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